Sharjeel Imam

Sharjeel Imam born 1988 is an Indian Muslim rights activist from Kako village of Jehanabad in Bihar known for his role in Citizenship Amendment Act protests.[3] He had completed his B.Tech and M.Tech from IIT-Bombay and joined Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2013 for completing his masters degree in Modern History and in 2015 he started Ph.D from the same university.[1][4] He was charged with sedition case by five states of India[5] and surrendered to Delhi Police on 28 January 2020,[6] who alleged that his speech promoted enmity among people that led riots in Jamia Millia Islamia University.[7]

Sharjeel Imam
Born1988 (age 32–33)[1]
Kako, Jehanabad, Bihar
NationalityIndian
EducationB.Tech and M.Tech Computer Science and Engineering,
MA, M.Phil, PhD Modern History
Alma materIIT Bombay
JNU
Parents
  • Akbar Imam (father)
  • Afshan Rahim[2] (mother)
FamilyMuzzammil Imam (brother)[1]

Early life and education

Sharjeel Imam was born in 1988 at Kako village of Jehanabad district, Bihar. His father Akbar Imam was a politician, mother Afshan Rahim is homemaker and brother Muzzammil Imam is a social activist.[1] Akbar Imam was a Janata Dal (United)’s candidate in Jehanabad constituency in the 2005 assembly election. In 2014, Akbar died of cancer, after an illness lasting many years. [2]

Sharjeel Imam started school in 1994; he was considered as bibliophile by his teachers. His high school was a missionary school in Patna. After completing high school in 2006, he studied computer engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. After graduation, he spent two years in Bengaluru where he joined a software company. In 2013, he joined Jawaharlal Nehru University to complete his Masters degree in Modern History and started Ph.D in 2015 from the same university.[2][1]

Career

Imam wrote articles for TRT World,[8] Firstpost,[9] The Quint,[10] and The Wire.[11]

Political activism

Imam initially appeared as an active volunteer of Anti CAA Protest at Shaheen Bagh, Delhi. The police said that Imam made two "very inflammatory and instigatory speeches in his opposition to CAA and NRC" on 13 December 2019 and 16 January 2020.[12] The latter speech was 40 minutes long;[2] in a three-minute long viral video of that speech, Imam could be heard calling for Assam to be "cut off" from the rest of the country by blocking the Siliguri corridor also known as "Chicken's Neck",[12][2] which he explained was call for "chakka jam" — a legitimate form of protest in India.[13][lower-alpha 1][15]

Sharjeel's arrest was widely condemned by politicians, teachers, students, activists and other organizations.[16][17] The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union said that his arrest is a matter of "Islamophobia, selective amnesia & bias" of the state apparatus.[18] JNU Teachers' Association alleged that the sedition charge was invoked due to "other reasons" and that it reflects "politicisation" of the conduct of law enforcement agencies.[19] 148 students and alumni of various IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) and over hundred students from Jamia Millia Islamia, AMU and other state universities signed a letter in his support and alleged that a few minutes of his speech were cherry-picked to misrepresent what he said to make it appear hateful and objectionable.[20] A group of students hailing from Bihar and studying in prominent institutions including Jawaharlal Nehru University and IIT Delhi wrote an open letter to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav urging him to demand the release of Imam, highlighting Imam's contribution as an academician, student, historian and journalist.[21][22]

Over 50 activists were booked under sedition charges by Mumbai Police for raising slogans in support of Sharjeel Imam at a Pride Solidarity gathering in February 2020.[23] In January 2021, several Student Organizations in Delhi University demanded immediate release of Sharjeel one year after his imprisonment.[24]

Cases filed by different states

Five Indian states have filed various cases against Imam includes Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Delhi.[25][2]

  • On 25 January 2020, Assam Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Imam for his speech under section 13 (1)/18 of UA(P)ACT read with section 153A, 153B and 124A of Indian Penal Code (IPC).[25]
  • On the same day, Aligarh Police in Uttar Pradesh also registered case against Imam for sedition and creating enmity between two groups.[25]
  • Manipur police also filed an FIR against Imam for waging war against the Indian government, sedition, indulging in vilification, attacks on a particular group or conspiracy to commit offences. The police filed the FIR for his remarks of "cut off" northeast from rest of the country under FIR number 16(1)2020 IPC under sections 121/121-A/124-A/120-B/153 IPC.[25]
  • On 26 January 2020, Arunachal Pradesh's Itanagar police filed a FIR against Imam under section 124(A), 153(A) and 153(B) of the Indian Penal Code for sedition, promoting enmity between groups.[25]
  • The Delhi police filed an FIR under Indian Penal Code's section 153 in addition to the charges of sedition and promoting religious enmity.[25]

Prison

On 28 January 2020, Sharjeel Imam surrendered to Delhi police for allegedly delivering inflammatory speeches against Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).[3][26] He was also booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.[27] After his arrest he was taken to Assam and is held in Guwahati Central Jail.[28] Whilst in prison he was infected with COVID-19, and tested positive for it on 21 July 2020.[28] The prison he is in holds slightly more than 1,000 inmates; least 435 inmates had tested positive for this disease by 22 July 2020.[28]

On 29 July 2020, Delhi Court had issued a summon against Imam in the case related to his alleged inflammatory speech. Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana after viewing the charge-sheet filed under UAPA against Imam and asked him to appear in court on 1 September 2020. The court took this decision due to coronavirus pandemic and said that if the physical appearance of the Imam is not possible then he can be presented via video-conferencing.[29]

Notes
  1. Chakka Jam is a term used in India and Nepal for the "deliberate creation of traffic jams as a form of political and social protest".[14]

References
  1. Swaroop, Vijay (29 January 2020). "Sharjeel Imam, a 'quiet, bright' student now in the limelight". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  2. Khan, Fatima (28 January 2020). "Sharjeel Imam, the IIT graduate in JNU who called out Left's 'Islamophobia'". ThePrint. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  3. "Who is Sharjeel Imam and why is he charged with sedition?". The Hindu. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  4. Imam, Muzzammil (1 October 2020). "Facts Are Important : Sharjeel Imam And Perception Of Abhijit Majumder, A Rebuttal". Youth Ki Awaaz.
  5. "Five States Have Now Filed Sedition Charges Against JNU Student Sharjeel Imam". The Wire. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  6. "Fact Check: Sharjeel Imam Surrendered Himself To Police, Not Arrested". The Logical Indian. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  7. "Sharjeel Imam chargesheeted in seditious speech case". The Economic Times. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  8. "Sharjeel Imam, Author at TRT World". TRT World. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  9. "Sharjeel Imam, Author at Firstpost". Firstpost. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  10. "Sharjeel Imam, Author at The Quint". The Quint. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  11. "Sharjeel Imam, Author at The Wire". The Wire. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  12. "Delhi Police books Shaheen Bagh protest organiser Sharjeel Imam for 'inflammatory speech'". ThePrint. 26 January 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  13. Saha, Abhishek (22 July 2020). "Student activist Sharjeel Imam tests positive for Covid-19 in Guwahati jail". The Indian Express. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  14. Schott, Ben (24 November 2008), "Schott's Vocab – Chakka Jam", The New York Times, retrieved 5 June 2020
  15. Menon, Aditya (2020-01-28). "Sharjeel Imam Surrenders in Bihar: Is He A Terrorist or Scapegoat?". TheQuint. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  16. Fatima, Nikhat (2020-06-02). "Opposition parties condemn arrest of activists, scholars, call for 'united political movement'". TwoCircles.net. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  17. Fatima, Nikhat (2020-05-05). "South Asian organisations in US accuse BJP of vendetta politics to persecute Muslims". TwoCircles.net. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  18. "Sharjeel Imam arrest: Arrest shows Islamophobia and selective amnesia of state, says JNUSU". India Today. January 28, 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  19. "Sharjeel Imam's arrest in sedition case due to other reasons: JNUTA". India Today. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  20. Sharma, Kritika (2020-01-28). "Sharjeel Imam comments 'cherry-picked' — IIT students, alumni say he is being victimised". ThePrint. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  21. Fatima, Nikhat (2020-10-03). "Bihar students write open letter to RJD, urge to break silence on incarceration of Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider". TwoCircles.net. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  22. Staff, Maktoob (2020-10-01). "Bihar students write open letter to RJD to break its silence on arrested students Sharjeel and Meeran". Maktoob. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  23. "Booked for Pro-Sharjeel Slogan, Court Now Rejects Bail to Kris". TheQuint. 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  24. "One year in jail; Student orgs in Delhi University demand Sharjeel Imam's release". Maktoob. 2021-01-30. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  25. "From IIT-B to JNU to Shaheen Bagh: Who is Sharjeel Imam?". Hindustan Times. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  26. "Sharjeel Imam Surrenders, but Media Continues to Harp on his 'Arrest'". NewsClick. 28 January 2020.
  27. "No immediate Supreme Court relief for anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam". The Hindu. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  28. Saha, Abhishek (22 July 2020). "Student activist Sharjeel Imam tests positive for Covid-19 in Guwahati jail". Indian Express. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  29. "Delhi court takes cognisance of chargesheet filed under UAPA against Sharjeel Imam". Business World. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
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